Project Safe Childhood | Project Safe Childhood
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that Tye Braxton Stiger, age 35, of Jonesville, made his initial appearance in the Western District of Michigan on February 14, 2023. A federal grand jury previously returned an indictment charging him with two counts of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e); and one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252A(a)(5)(B), (b)(2) and 2256(8)(A). After indictment, law enforcement found and arrested Stiger in the Philippines, then extradited him to the United States for federal prosecution.
“These sexual exploitation and child pornography allegations are extremely disturbing and serious,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office is committed to protecting our youngest and most vulnerable citizens – our children.”
This matter was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office by the Hillsdale County Prosecutor. There is also a related, outstanding 34-count warrant out of Hillsdale County against Stiger charging second degree criminal sexual conduct, aggravated sexually abusive activity, aggravated possession of sexually abusive material, using a computer to commit a crime, and installing/using an eavesdropping device.
Jamie Wisniewski, a Hillsdale County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, advised, “Given the nature and severity of the offenses Mr. Stiger is accused of, we believe it would be in the best interests of the community and the best use of our resources for the child sexually abusive material charges to be handled by the United States Attorney’s Office at this time.”
The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
A copy of the indictment is attached.
The investigation and prosecution were made possible through Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a multi-agency, nationwide effort begun by the Department of Justice in 2006. The project facilitates information sharing and joint-agency investigations among local, state, and federal authorities in order to combat the sexual exploitation of children. This matter was investigated by the Michigan State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Marshals Service.
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